Homemade pole shoe screw driver

[Art Bailey]

Hey All,

 

I'm in the process of rebuilding my generator and starting motor, and quickly discovered how freaking tight the pole screws are in there, how round and unwieldy the motors are, and how easy it is to mangle the screw slots, no matter how careful I am. Motor's manual shows one of these neat devices: 

 

I'm sure one or more of you guys has a crate full of them. But for the rest of us...

 

Two hunks of 4x4 lumber, all thread, nuts and washers, Harbor Freight 1/2 drive impact socket, 1/2 extension, breaker bar, threaded pipe flange reversed, and two cans of beer (optional). Carefully grind the screwdriver blade to fit the slot as precisely as possible. Shape the bottom 4x4 to match the round profile of the motor, though making it into a v-block would've been quicker and probably better. This genny was in the trunk of my heap, and if someone told me it spent the last 65 years at the bottom of the Hudson River, I'd believe it. Both screws cracked loose with no effort, no bashing, no swearing, and no mangled screw slots. 

Edited June 13, 2021 by ratbailey

[JohnS48plm]

Wish I'd seen that years ago when I ended up taking mine to a repair shop.

[bamfordsgarage]

Very slick. I have a particular appreciation for shop-made specialized tools. Thanks for posting. 

[Art Bailey]

32 minutes ago, bamfordsgarage said:

Very slick. I have a particular appreciation for shop-made specialized tools. Thanks for posting. 

Thanks! I enjoyed your DIY wheel alignment post. After researching the process a bit some months back, I knew it must be possible to cobble together an alignment kit---lots of food for thought in your post. 

[jhm1mc13]

May I suggest an impact driver which has loosened stubborn door hinge and seized nuts and screws for me.

[Art Bailey]

4 minutes ago, jhm1mc13 said:

May I suggest an impact driver which has loosened stubborn door hinge and seized nuts and screws for me.

You may, but I really don't like bashing on things where it's not necessary, especially on hard to source things like the countersink pole shoe screws, the motor casting, or the pole shoes themselves. The Motor's manual explicitly says not to do this. Last night I got all four pole screws out of my starter with no sweat, and they're completely reusable.